Want to Improve Results? Look to Readability

05.19.2020

Printing is a visual industry. But the copy matters too. If people can’t read your messaging easily or if it’s difficult to understand, you won’t get the results you want. Here are five tips for improving readability and your response rates, conversions, and sales.

1. Be specific.

People are drawn to details. For example, which copy is more likely to draw your eye?

“Save money.”

“Save hundreds of dollars.”

“Save an average of $386 per year.”

It’s the last one, right? Details draw the eye and command attention. Use them!

2. Be relevant.

People’s eyes are drawn to copy that addresses what matters to them and makes them feel good about it. Let’s say that you’re a bank marketing to a target audience with a high percentage of families with kids about to graduate from high school. Sure, you can talk to them about how your savings accounts provide the highest rates in town, but that doesn’t connect.

So what does connect? “Put the extra earnings from our high-yield savings accounts toward college tuition!” works well, because you’ve addressed what matters to them, and you’ve made them feel good about it.

3. Add images.

Even the most specific, relevant copy can go unseen without an image to accompany it. For example, you might create a banner ad that says, “Download your free retirement guide!” This goes totally unnoticed, even if it’s hitting your target audience. Add an image of the cover, however, and suddenly the ad is getting tons of clicks.

4. Use numerals when possible.

When discussing numbers in running text, use numerals instead of spelling them out. For example, “Save $10,000” works better than “Save ten thousand dollars.” Why? Because you get the message across quicker, and the conciseness of it draws your attention.

5. Avoid using all caps.

For the most part, the human eye has difficulty distinguishing between words and letters in all caps. Avoid using all caps except in rare instances.

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